Police post eviction notice on door of Venezuela embassy in Washington

After weeks of an intensifying stand-off in Washington between backers of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, police posted eviction notices on the Venezuelan embassy doors on Monday and began to clear tents and canopies from the courtyard.

Both sides had made themselves at home in recent weeks – with activists from Code Pink, Popular Resistance and Answer Coalition living inside the embassy since April 10, and pro-Guaido demonstrators guarding the building’s entrances since April 30.

It was not immediately clear which agency issued the eviction notices, though Carlos Vecchio, the Guaido-appointed ambassador, tweeted on Monday that he and his diplomatic team would “announce next steps soon”.

“Ambassadors Vecchio and [Gustavo] Tarre have requested and directed anyone who is present on this property to depart from it immediately, and to not return without these ambassadors’ express authorisation,” said the eviction notice, which was dated Monday. “Any person who refuses to comply with these requests and orders to depart from this property will be trespassing in violation of federal and District of Columbia law and may be arrested and criminally prosecuted.”

Over the past few weeks, pro-Guaido demonstrators and Code Pink supporters have been locked in a battle for control over the embassy in the Georgetown neighbourhood.

Pro-Guaido demonstrators – almost all of whom are Venezuelan or Venezuelan American – have accused the largely American protesters of co-opting the conflict raging in the troubled South American country to promote a political message. They have blocked entrances and exits and kept Code Pink supporters from delivering food to those inside.

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Last week, a utility cut electricity to the building. Over the weekend, demonstrators said the water had been cut off. However, a DC Water spokesman said on Monday the agency had not stopped service to the building.

The demonstrators inside, meanwhile, dubbed themselves the “embassy protection collective” and said they were protecting the building from illegal attempts to enter by groups barred by the Maduro government.

The group’s numbers have dwindled in recent days, with only a handful remaining on Monday.

At the demonstration’s peak, about 50 people were living in the embassy. But the lack of electricity and limited access to food pushed several people to leave.

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“They cannot violate this embassy. This is a coup,” said Kevin Zeese, a co-founder of Popular Resistance who has been inside since April 10. “Violating this embassy will have terrible repercussions on US embassies around the world. We’re going to resist. We will not go willingly.”